Travel
Verve
Sole Sisters
Ever since the American sneakerhead subculture was co-opted by the mainstream and luxury fashion industries, global Instagram feeds have been filled with images of Nikes, Yeezys, Balenciagas, or whichever brand has dropped the season’s It shoe. But to sneakerheads, they are more than the latest fad. A number of women are in the vanguard of the burgeoning movement here in India, and Rushmika Banerjee speaks with five of them to get some diverse viewpoints on what makes this footwear staple an aspirational commodity.
10+ min |
August - September 2019
Verve
Social Butterfly
Her Instagram captions — wittily concise or an expertly selected emoji — present an intriguing combination of millennial insouciance with profundity that is beyond her years. The enigmatic yet instantly relatable Sobhita Dhulipala’s inner self emerges as Richa Kaul Padte peels back the layers of everyone’s new favourite ‘webtertainment’ celebrity, on the heels of the actor’s upcoming Netflix release, Bard of Blood
10+ min |
August - September 2019
Verve
Watch This Space
The internet, especially its various gateways to self-empowerment, has proven to be a boon for a country as diverse and socially stratified as India, but its work is far from done.
7 min |
August - September 2019
Verve
The Story Of Us
In popular culture, adopted offspring are often represented as being burdened by the debt of gratitude. Emphasising that, in actuality, it was her adopted twin daughters who gave her a life to look forward to, Lakshmi Iyer feels that mainstream entertainment should be more sensitive about reflecting the lived experiences of adoptees to ensure that they do not trigger trauma or perpetuate inaccurate narratives.
6 min |
August - September 2019
Verve
Power Up
Living up to their moniker, smartwatches can track your heart rate and travel plans or pay for a cup of coffee while, of course, perfectly keeping time. Verve zooms in on a few of these up-to-the-minute multitaskers
2 min |
August - September 2019
Verve
Under The Influence
The perks of cyber popularity can undoubtably be intoxicating, but they are exponentially rewarding when you leverage the web to engage in constructive social criticism and open up dialogues. Verve’s follow list includes these eight prolific posters who are leaving a legacy that goes beyond the likes…
10+ min |
August - September 2019
Verve
Petal Pushers
Event designers Amit Lata and Karan Singh Parmar, the duo behind the company Twelve Tomatoes, have successfully transformed many clients’ fantasies into reality with their imaginative floral decor. A curious Zaral Shah gets some answers about how their profession has been altered by the ever-present influence, pressure even, of social media
4 min |
August - September 2019
Verve
Back To The Roots
The green revolution has turned the wheels of fortune in favour of India’s long-standing tradition of massaging the scalp with herb-enriched oils. Aparrna Gupta traces its triumphant comeback.
4 min |
August 2016
Verve
True To Form
Whether it is her eye for utilitarian design, her repertoire of vintage collectibles, or her soulfulness when it comes to fashion, space and jewellery, tehzeeb lakhani places a premium on form and functionality.
3 min |
May 2017
Verve
Across The Easel
My curiosity went through the roof the moment I laid eyes on the new cover of Macbeth from the Pelican Shakespeare series.
3 min |
May 2017
Verve
An Indian Inheritance
I’m from Belgium, where everything is grey for the better part of the year. Where people are nice, but so ‘classic’.
3 min |
May 2017
Verve
Soles With Style
People tend to think that beautiful clothes are the product of a solo designer. but there’s usually a whole team behind that person.
1 min |
May 2017
Verve
A Walk On The Wild Side
A trip to Indonesia proves to be a harrowing episode for Devanshi Mody who enjoys the country despite misadventures galore….
7 min |
March 2018
Verve
Gastronomy In Her Genes
The first Indian to have trained at the three-Michelin-star restaurant Osteria Francescana in Italy, Akanksha Dean aspires to create compelling memories on her plates
1 min |
March 2018
Verve
Reimagining The Everyday
This month, in Switzerland, Kerala-born artist Unnikrishnan C presents his first international showcase that takes an unusual look at the ordinary
2 min |
March 2018
Verve
Her Vocabulary Of Forms
Inspired by varied global cultural influences, British artist Lubna Chowdhary brings them to life through her ceramic creations, finds Rymn Massand
3 min |
March 2018
Verve
Decoding The Present
Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, curator of the ongoing exhibition Asymmetrical Objects, writes about how it visually addresses issues that plague modern society
3 min |
March 2018
Verve
Floral Science
A highlight of visiting Provence and the French Riviera is definitely a sojourn in Grasse, with its splendid 19th-century villas, grand town houses, 11th-century cathedral and old town centre. But more than that, it is the gorgeous flower fields in the countryside that draw tourists and locals alike to the region. For this town in south-eastern France, where several international luxury brands also maintain their fields of flowers, has been considered the perfume capital of the world since the 17th century. Fragrance and flavour company Robertet has had its headquarters here since 1850. One of their master perfumers and native Grassois Daniel Visintin, who’s been in the business for 45 years, has utilised his elevated sensory instincts to create a wide range of products using natural ingredients from all over the globe. During a quick tête-à-tête, Verve gets a whiff of what it takes….
3 min |
April - May 2019
Verve
(Un)Familiar Territory
As redevelopment and construction projects cast a dusty haze over an already unrecognisable Mumbai, Simin Patel, founder of walking tours company Bombaywalla, and photographer Hashim Badani are determined not to lose sight of the sometimes-overlooked spaces that gave Mumbai its original, distinct character. Sadaf Shaikh joins them on a customised expedition and is reminded why she shouldn’t take the uniqueness of her hometown for granted.
10+ min |
April - May 2019
Verve
Girl On An Island
Her voice, rippling with an otherworldly timbre, swirls around dreamy guitar chords, and it leaves listeners imagining her floating away to some cosmic nightscape at the end of a song. But Ditty (aka Aditi Veena) has her feet firmly planted on Earth, and the Goa-based musician and urban ecologist taps into the synergy between these two fields while living in tune with this planet’s rhythm. Verve has a heart to heart with the singer of ‘earthsongs’….
5 min |
April - May 2019
Verve
Walk On The Wild Side
The rugged topography of central India’s Chambal valley is expertly navigated by cinematographer Anuj Rakesh Dhawan’s lens in the Hindi movie Sonchiriya. Shreya Dasgupta plays guide for Verve as her well-trained eye tracks the sinuous camerawork, zeroing in on the specific terrains, vegetation and wildlife that get screen time.
8 min |
April - May 2019
Verve
Moral Fibre
Founded by Zuzana Gombosova and Susmith C. Suseelan from Slovakia and India respectively, Malai Biomaterials Design is a Kerala-based research, development and design studio.
1 min |
April - May 2019
Verve
A Legacy Of Love
It’s the canonical Bollywood romance that established a new cinematic template for modern, multicultural love when it first hit the screens in 1995. Natashja Rathore demystifies the timeless appeal of Yash Raj Films’ Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in her documentary, Still Rolling — The DDLJ Story (2016), and adds a new layer of meaning to Huzan Tata’s memories of her favourite cult classic.
6 min |
January-February 2019
Verve
There's Space For An Older Sensual Woman
Women on the silver screen had just begun to showcase a certain confidence, independence and joie de vivre. And ’90s superstar Raveena Tandon infused each of her performances with her distinguishable brand of physical energy and natural femininity. Paromita Vohra, writer-filmmaker, has a conversation with the accidental actor to examine the space she occupied on celluloid in her heyday, and follows her evolution into an even more self-aware sex symbol since then.
10+ min |
January-February 2019
Verve
Standing As One
The Berlin Wall, a prominent symbol of the Cold War, had divided a country, and city, for decades. After the wall fell in 1989, the German capital was left to reconcile two contrasting aesthetic and ideological identities. Rohan Hande captures architectural idiosyncrasies and coexistence in the formerly east-west districts.
2 min |
June - July 2019
Verve
Changing The Games
Designer duo Aditi Agrawal and Anjali Menon’s studio, Gudgudee, develops recreational areas and products to help make our metros more child-friendly, one playground at a time, learns Huzan Tata.
6 min |
June - July 2019
Verve
Livin' La Vida Local
A stranger to Instagram until two years ago, 37-year-old Shrima Rai has renounced a lucrative career in banking and made a successful foray into the glittering realm of the now-ubiquitous digital influencer.
5 min |
June - July 2019
Verve
Worlds On A Page
Gita Wolf’s Chennai-based publishing house Tara Books’ handmade offerings are produced in collaboration with both Indian and global artisans. These thought-provoking titles, aimed at younger readers, navigate cultures, societies and geographies with sensitivity, says Lavanya Mohan
4 min |
July-August 2018
Verve
Behind The Brush
Rithika Merchant paints fantasies — her work is full of hybrid creatures, liquid landscapes and horoscopic skies. But, the Barcelona-based visual artist has her feet firmly on the ground and her eye sharply on the ball. Skye Arundhati Thomas explores both the right and left brain of the Mumbai-born artist whose life straddles two continents
8 min |
July-August 2018
Verve
Four Ladies on Song
This gang of girls has three mothers, three daughters and three sisters in its fold. At matriarch Geetu Hinduja’s home, joined by siblings Neha Raheja Thakker, Avani and Veda Raheja, they open up to Shashi Baliga about family and celebrating differences.
9 min |